Going out of Business Sale

In the past couple of days, I have faced the temptation of buying t-shirts and other articles of clothing. The reason why it's such a hard decision is because it's at a discounted rate. Not just any discounted rate, such as 20% or even 35%, I'm talking about 50%-75% off with free shipping. Now I know that this consumer challenge asks that I do not buy merchandise and fight the urges of

Finale

WEEK 10! Whats up to all the graduating students this quarter.Its the last weak of the compact/anticonsumerism challenge and I am at quite an end. I must say that though everything looks very appealing, I am a college student and have little to spend on such luxuries. Most goes to food alcohol or other. I decided however, that I have observed the majority of the challenge without making a

First Step to Stepping out to the real world

I, like many of my peers, am graduating from UC Davis. Out in the professional world, one needs the proper clothing to succeed in interviews and corporate America in general. This type of dress, for males like myself, comes in the form of a suit. The only problem with dressing professionally is that suits are quite a monetary investment. This poses a difficulty for many who graduate and head

Why did you buy that?

As I read this weeks reading, while on a short family road trip to San Francisco this weekend, I set myself on a mission to pay close attention to the consumers at the San Francisco Centre Westfield Mall. I particularly wanted to focus on what consumers were buying and why consumers were purchasing certain products (was it because it’s currently in style or because it fit the individuals own

Gimme More!

In today's age, nothing is ever enough. We always want more; more shoes, more clothes, more money, more everything! We have all heard that more is not always better but it does not always resonate when have to have something. The key is minimizing, reducing clutter can be the first step to a simpler and less stressful life. For someone, like myself, who has had a difficult time controlling

Tattoos: Reflective of Me or The Media?

After going to John Mayer's concert last July of 2008 in San Jose, my respect level for him as a guitarist increased exponentially. I was in deep awe of his ability to play the guitar while it was rested on the floor and he was kneeling over it. But beyond his guitar playing, the one other thing that really struck me was his tattoos - specifically the one on his right forearm. There was something

What can we do?

Consumerism, It’s everywhere, whether we like it or not. Imagine a world where we live in a safe pleasant and an unpolluted environment. And we actually know our neighbors and are able to interact with each other, be it a small town, the suburban area or even a city neighborhood. That sounds far fetched as of right now, but if we change our ways of living, there may be a day where changes can be

Too Much Mom!Too Much!

Like many of you this weekend, I made a visit to my parents’ place. Since it is a week before finals, I decided to go home for a chance to relax before jumping into a week of coffee, sleepless nights, and nonstop studying. Most of my friends told me that the first question their parents would ask them when they come home is: have you eaten yet? In my case, it’s a little different. My mom still

A Threadless Streetwear, Maybe?

While the article about streetwear by Jessica Pallay was short but it provided just enough information for anyone not in-the-know to be curious and to have a general sense of what it is all about. And what does Threadless have anything to do with this? Maybe it's just me but when I started reading the article, Threadless immediately came to my mind.T-shirts from freshjive Spring 09

Fashion Recession or Idea Recession?

Copy this whole post to another site Slurp cancel select site advertising consumerist deadspin defamer fleshbot gay fleshbot gawker gizmodo idolator io9 jalopnik jezebel kotaku lifehacker valleywag artists gawkershop When I do decide to go home during the weekends I seem to always get criticized about my appearance by my mother. However, the one thing that bothers her the most is my skin color. "Anak, you're getting too dark! With that dark skin, people will think you are not a daughter of mine." She'd always complain, because she was blessed with light skin. The odd thing is that she’s

I <3 HK

Hello Kitty is taking over the world. I’ve already surrendered to her powerful cuteness. I don’t know if I’ll ever outgrow Sanrio – I’m 21 years old and Hello Kitty is still everywhere: on my keys, on my Ipod, in my car, in my makeup, on my pencil, part of my email address… So, when Sanrio came up in Sharon Kinsella’s article, “Cuties in Japan”, I tried to look at my obsession through a

Sweats

After a long day of work without much sleep from the night prior, I quickly changed into my sweat pants before heading back to Davis from the Bay Area tonight. I wasn't planning to leave the car until I got to my Davis apartment. However, I ended up having to go out of the car and walk into starbucks. I have never worn sweat pants or pajamas outside of the house before. I always felt like it

Off the Walls and Onto Your Clothing

The organization that I am a part of, Bridge (the Pilipino Outreach and Retention Program) does a weekly mentorship program for high school students. We put on different workshops for them and we recently did one on expression through different forms of art. One of the mediums we talked about was graffiti. Graffiti was most often associated with territorial markers and vandalism, but we looked at

Naturally Beautiful

When you think of the purpose of makeup, it is mostly to enhance our natural beauty. If this is true, why is it that we often use products that contain ingredients we cannot pronounce and may be potentially harmful to our skin?Natural and organic makeup is no longer just for those who have sensitive skin allergies. There are many benefits to natural and organic makeup including:* Organic

Never Stop Collecting

This compact challenge has really helped me distinguish between what I need and what I can honestly do without; I’m proud to say I passed up buying a cool pair of headphones that were on sale today. The point of this blog, however, is not to highlight the progress I have made but to reflect on a few unnecessary things I’ve bought in recent years. One of my biggest faults that have plagued me

One Step Off the Grid

Here goes another week of this compact challenge. The status of my progress is: great. Other than food, no purchases have been made. Seeing as how this week’s readings focused on consumerism and consumption, I believe the heart of this project came to light. Why else would we be drawing so much attention to this issue I not for the negative effects our fashion consumption is having on society

I Now Pronounce You, Husband and Wife

Yesterday was a bit of milestone for me, and I've done something I have yet to do in my lifetime, attend a wedding.Now don't laugh if you've been to numerous ceremonies and receptions, but I have yet to be invited to one. Well, more along the lines of not knowing anyone who wants to tie the knot in the near future, and, sadly, most of my relatives are either married well before I was conceived or

Pilipino Culture Night